Warning to Yorkshire coast visitors this Easter after dramatic rise in seal disturbance incidents

The warning follows an incident where an injured seal was recently left whimpering after it became stranded on the cobblestones of Bridlington harbour for more than 24 hours.

Encroaching on seals can lead to their injury and death, even up to several months later following cumulative disruptive events.

The group says it recorded a record-breaking 1118 serious human-attributed seal disturbance incidents on the Yorkshire coast in 2022 – up 46% on the previous year.

The group’s team of 40 stewards patrol the coasts and seal haul out sites to educate the public, raise awareness and mitigate disturbance events urges people to observe from afar using optics.

Co-Founder Matt Barnes said: “We are extremely lucky that the UK is home to over a third of the world’s Grey Seal population but detrimental human-seal interactions are on the rise from a minority of irresponsible watercraft users, coastal walkers, drone users, photographers and social media influencers.

"Our dedicated volunteer stewards positively engaged over 16,500 visitors around seals last year to provide best practice guidance.

"For UK seals, every calorie counts and constantly having to flee to the water to escape a perceived threat is taking its toll.”

He said the group seeks to engage with coastal dog walkers after its stewards chatted to 1,135 owners – of whom 25% had their dogs off the lead on approach to the seals, increasing the risks of attacks.

Matt added: “Education is a key part to peacefully coexisting alongside our charismatic, intelligent and globally rare seals here in the UK and I hope people empathise with their plight and enjoy them as with all other coastal wildlife responsibly this Easter.”

If you witness anyone injuring seals, call the police or visit www.yorkshireseals.org to report disturbance events to the Yorkshire Seal Group.

A seal which suffered serious injuries following a suspected dog attack on a beach in Scarborough has been spotted thriving in the wild.

Lady was rescued by Sea Life Scarborough in April 2019, after she was found with “several wounds”, “significantly” too small for her age, thought to be the result of a dog attack.